Andrew Carmellini is aiming to open his lounge in the mezzanine of the refurbished Public Theater in time for a star-studded ribbon-cutting on Oct. 4, a spokesperson for the chef has confirmed. Fans of Locanda Verde and The Dutch – and, for that matter, of Joe’s Pub, which Mr. Carmellini’s partner Josh Pickard helped launch – can hope for The Library to open in the first week of October, barring construction delays. Meanwhile the French restaurant that Mr. Carmellini, Mr. Pickard and Luke Ostrom are opening at 380 Lafayette Street by the end of the year is still without a name, said the spokesperson.
Melvin Felix 
Stephen Rex Brown A peak inside Mr. Carmellini’s new restaurant
on Lafayette Street.Does Mayor Bloomberg have an East Village trip penciled into his schedule?
A spokesperson for Joe’s Pub let slip that the mayor would be attending a ribbon-cutting at the Public Theater on Oct. 4. In a subsequent e-mail she said she couldn’t confirm Mr. Bloomberg’s attendance (mayoral plans are fickle, after all), but it’s clear the re-dedication ceremonies are going to have some star power. The theater broke ground on what was expected to be a $40 million renovation project in March. Earlier this month, ArtsBeat reported that the Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust, founded by the parents of Eliot Spitzer, gave $4 million to the theater.
It’s uncertain whether Andrew Carmellini’s hotly anticipated mezzanine lounge, The Library, will be in full swing for the celebrations, which come exactly a year after an upgraded Joe’s Pub reopened; the chef didn’t respond to an e-mail inquiry. This week, Eater reported The Library would open in the second week of October.
Just one block south on Lafayette Street, work continues on Mr. Carmellini’s somewhat mysterious French restaurant in the former Chinatown Brassiere space, as you can see in a photo we snapped earlier this week.
